Jeanne Chrisanthopoulos
AP Biology Current Event 7
Due Monday, November 9th, 2015
Scientists Study Links Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather
A new published collection of studies examined 28 extreme weather events that have occurred in 2014. Droughts, floods, and storms were studied to look for a sign that climate change caused these events. The studies were created to see the effect of climate change as the globe warms. The question is, is climate change already affecting the Earth? This study did not give a conclusive answer. Around half of them did find a role of climate change in the extreme weather conditions’ intensity, and the other half did not. However, it is inaccurate to compare data from different natural events: “The strength of the climate change signals that we see really varies based on the type of event being looked at.” It is important to understand that the scientists behind these studies were not describing a direct cause and effect; they created an analysis of probabilities based on computer models. There is room for error with the results from the models due to uncertainty from uncontrollable variables. These climate changes have been affected by humans; we have increased the likelihood and intensity of heat waves all over the world. There was a high amount of tropical cyclones that hit Hawaii, and there is evidence to support that climate change (global warming) influenced it greatly.
There were also non-environmental factors that affected these weather events, like population growth and government policies. The Syrian drought was affected by its government but also by the lack of rainfall due to climate change. Every event needs its own approach of analysis to draw a conclusion about the topic presented. The wildfires in the American west and the rough Midwestern winter were not strongly linked to climate change.
I chose this article because I find global warming interesting especially because my whole family doesn’t believe it exists. My step-father showed me an outdated article about how ice is reforming in the poles, which contradicts the melting of the polar bears’ home due to global warming. I still believe in global warming because it makes sense that as we increase emissions of CO2 we start the positive feedback loop of cranking up the air conditioning and then causing the Earth to heat up more because of an increase in emissions. It was interesting to see how global warming is affecting the Earth other than the well-known rise in sea level; that is why I chose this article. The article could have explained at least one study in detail because it mentions how 28 studies were conducted and half supported one thesis and the other half supported a different one. It would make sense to give an overview of two studies that each supported a different hypothesis. It was nice how the article referenced examples of natural disasters that may have been triggered by climate change, like the cyclones, but again it did not say how climate change affected it. I learned that it is important to look at all the effects that global warming and climate change have on the world, and how the world will change from extreme weather.
Work Cited
Schwartz, John. "Scientists Study Links Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 05 Nov. 2015. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.
Schwartz, John. "Scientists Study Links Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather." The New
ReplyDeleteYork Times. The New York Times, 05 Nov. 2015. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/science/climate-change-extreme-weather-global-warming.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&_r=0
Jeanne observantly suggested that the article should have given an exemplary overview of two studies with contradicting hypotheses in her last paragraph. She also explained her personal attraction to this article when she mentioned familial ties to global warming. It was helpful to read her explanation of how the study was not designed to produce a cause-and-effect conclusion--since there were uncontrollable variables in the study--but to analyze probabilities of the causes of these natural disasters. Distinguishing this type of experiment from the usual cause-and-effect mechanisms gives light to the variation in scientific studies.
The summary paragraph was a bit hard to follow and was too long. Digressions like the Hawaiian cyclones and Syrian drought could have been exempt from the report. Even when specifics were included, she could have elaborated on the effect of government policies on the events. Connections to the effect of the study on society and science would have enriched her report as well.
I was surprised to read that non-environmental factors like government policies and human population affected extreme weather. It bring awareness to how our behavior impacts our planet; by a simple switch to turn up an air conditioner, it can increase CO2 emissions and therefore heat up Earth’s atmosphere. The study also sets a precedent of how important it is to look for all variables that may affect the outcome of an experiment.